A Pale and Lovely Place

This is the fourth revival of Kevin Joyce's stylish and creepy one-man cabaret, directed by longtime collaborator Kevin Kent. Joyce is playing three mildly satanic characters: Announcer, Hunter, and Charmer, each signaled by different types of light. His performance is embellished with offstage voices, the hypnotic ticking of a metronome, musical numbers with piano and accordion, and lots of one-on-one address to audience members. (Some are invited onstage or used to inspire ad-libs, as Joyce has often done for Teatro ZinZanni.) The hour-long show is structured by Joyce's "Rules of the Covenant," each of which he cryptically announces. "Train With Pain," "Trick Your Body," and "Be Somewhere Else, Now" may sound like insufferable psychobabble, but don't worry: After Joyce gets done with them, they're not. He illustrates each rule with a squib of narrative so understated yet bizarre that it'll make you rethink the nature of cliché. MARGARET FRIEDMAN [See Margaret's full review.]